This application is related to copending application bearing Ser. No. 08/346,559 entitled VERTICAL CAVITY SURFACE EMITTING LAYER HAVING CONTINUOUS GRADING, having Attorney Docket No. CR94-108 filed on Nov. 29, 1994, and assigned to the same assignee which is hereby incorporated herein.
Conventional edge emitting semiconductor lasers are playing a significant role in development of optical communications due to their high operating efficiency, small size and modulation capabilities. However, with increasing performance and manufacturing needs, reduction in size, these devices have severe limitations.
Recently, there has been an increased interest in a new type of laser device called a vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL). The VCSEL has a potential of several advantages, such as a smaller size, higher performance, and more manufacturable. However, to date, the VCSEL has not been able to fulfill these potential advantages due to a variety of problems, such as poor manufacturability, high power consumption, high series resistance, poor current confinement, and the like.
As can be seen, conventional structures and methods of fabrication of VCSEL devices do not meet requirements that are necessary for high volume manufacturing. Further, since conventional structures of VCSEL devices do not provide a low power consumption conventional structures of VCSEL devices are not suitable for low power applications. Therefore, a structure that is highly manufacturable and provides a low power consuming device would be highly desirable.